| Most-Banka found a professional observer The Most Bank liquidation procedure is gaining momentum. The Moscow Arbitration Court yesterday introduced a monitoring procedure against the bank and, at the request of the Central Bank, appointed Andrei Intse as temporary manager. Mr. Intse has not yet been “exposed” in high-profile scandals surrounding the bankruptcies of large credit institutions. His last job was as bankruptcy manager of the European Trade Bank. The new appointment is, of course, a promotion, since Mr. Inze is now elevated for some time to the pinnacle of a real, albeit sinking, banking empire.
The decline of Most Bank, which began in 1998, entered a visible phase in May last year, when the Central Bank introduced a temporary administration there. At first, interest in the rehabilitation of Most Bank was advertised by Vneshtorgbank, whose management declared their desire to use Most’s retail business. For some time, VTB’s plans looked quite feasible: last fall, it acquired 100% of the shares of Most Bank for 5.5 million rubles, and at the beginning of 2001, the new managers of Most reported that they would soon agree with all the bank’s creditors on debt restructuring. However, either due to the intransigence of the largest creditors (Most Bank owed more than 2 billion rubles to the Ministry of Finance alone), or due to some other circumstances, VTB abandoned the idea of rehabilitating Most. On April 20, the Central Bank revoked Most Bank’s license, and on May 3, VTB filed a lawsuit to declare its subsidiary bankrupt.
Mr. Inza inherited a vast, although rather neglected, farm. As of March 1, Most Bank's overdue debt on interbank loans, together with accrued interest, amounted to almost 4.5 billion rubles. Deposits of 96 thousand private depositors amounted to 540 million rubles, budget funds - 1.2 billion rubles.
To satisfy the demands of creditors, the arbitration manager will have to work closely with the bank’s debtors. Most's balance sheet includes overdue accounts receivable for 2.5 billion rubles, as well as bills for 5.5 billion rubles.
Analysts suggest that the same VTB is behind Mr. Intse. VTB lawyers do not comment on yesterday’s appointment, stating only: “Now nothing depends on us, everything goes within the established procedures.” Vladimir FEDORIN |
|
